Sunset Lagoon
by T'Kirr
Summary: The 10th Doctor and Rose visit a tropical lagoon and, naturally, find trouble.
1. Sun Basking

Sunset Lagoon  
Rating: T  
Summary: The 10th Doctor and Rose visit a tropical lagoon and, naturally, find trouble.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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The Doctor broke the surface in an explosion of spray, water rushing out and back in a roar around him as he came up for air. Whipping his head quickly from side to side, flinging droplets from his laden hair, he cleared his eyes of water and whooped in delight.

"Come on, Rose! The water's fantastic!"

"No thanks."

Frowning at the impossibly uninterested tone in response to his invitation, the Doctor peered over at the large glittering rock bathed in the baking rays of the sun. Rose lay on top of it, eyes closed, basking in the heat. Like a lizard on a thermal rock, she was. A grin stole across his face as he imagined Rose with scales. And maybe a long, forked tongue. Wouldn't that be interesting!

Well, perhaps for a day. No, he'd keep Rose just how she was now, which was in a maroon bikini that sported curves and stretches of creamy skin. "You didn't want to come here just to lie in the sun, did you? What's the point of going somewhere tropical if you're not going to swim?"

Without so much as a blink in his direction, Rose responded evenly, "Do you know how long it's been since I've had a proper tan?"

"No, but I don't see why you need it. Besides, you can get a tan just fine from in the water," said the Doctor, as if instructing a child.

"What do you know, anyway!"

The Doctor pressed his lips together and waded towards her shrine of a rock and splashed it.

"Oi!" Rose sat up, flinging water off herself.

"What's wrong with a bit of water?" the Doctor grouched, wading further towards the bank and getting out. His navy blue swim trunks dripped unending streams of water, and as he approached the rock, Rose's eyes went wide.

"Oh, don't you dare. Stay away!"

The Doctor grinned merrily. "I'm getting you wet, there's no escaping it."

Rose scuttled backwards and stood up. "Not fair!"

"Either chuck yourself in, or I push. Your choice."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Doctor, there's no telling what's in that water!"

"I... scanned it," the Doctor lied, "it's harmless, now get in!"

Rose resembled a trapped animal, crouching down at the edge of the rock, the Doctor's entirely too wet body blocking off her path of escape further inland. She glared back over her shoulder at the offending plane of water.

"Last chance," the Doctor warned.

"Stuff it."

"Right, here we go." The Doctor advanced, tipping a squealing Rose off the rock, but she reached out and secured the Doctor's arm, pulling his weight after her.

SPLASH!


	2. Bird Egg

SPLASH!

Although Rose cried out indignantly at being drenched, the Doctor didn't pay her any apology and seemed rather upset himself. "Really, Rose, this water's too shallow for stunts like that. We could've been hurt!

Rose just stared at him.

The Doctor's annoyance flipped over and stretched into a winning grin. "That was fun. Do it again?"

Rose moaned in exasperation. "Centuries-old Time Lord, killed by falling on shallow water rocks."

The water _was_ pretty shallow. If they were standing, it would only come up to just under her bikini top. As the Doctor kicked up and started floating on his back, Rose found that the water was actually quite refreshing. Slowly she sank down, knees bent, until it was up to her shoulders.

Rose wasn't going to admit, of course, that it wasn't so bad. Now that she was wet, however, she decided to make the most of it. She swam around, although refused to put her head under, and watched her bright blonde hair darken in the water and splay around her on the surface.

"Ah..."

Rose looked over at the Doctor, who was now standing vertically in the water. "Wha'?"

"I, em..." The Doctor glanced downward for a second before looking back up at her, the sheepish look turning into an uncontrolled grin of embarrassment. "I seem to have lost something."

Rose stared unbelievingly at him.

"Right. Hold on a tick," the Doctor said in a rush before dipping down out of view. Seconds later, he came up. The Doctor's expression of calm was surface-deep, but begged her to believe nothing at all out of the ordinary had just happened. "There," he said in a small voice. "All sorted."

"Honestly!"

The Doctor couldn't hide a small smile of amusement before he rose up on his back again.

Rose was grateful to see he wasn't 'missing' anything. She decided to change the conversation. "You said this water's safe, yeah? It doesn't look it."

"It's not a pool, it's a natural lagoon." The Doctor pulled up from his floating position to look at Rose. "You're not gonna get sick, it's just not filtered and chemicalised and domesticated like you humans like to do to everything."

"There's got to be someplace in this whole universe with crystal clear waters that even remotely resemble those in Hawaii, yeah?" Rose came to a bank of the lagoon, caked with masses of swampy vegetation. "Why couldn't we go to one of those?"

"I'm telling you, there's nothing wrong with this water!"

Rose barely heard the Doctor, something in the brush catching her eye. Reaching in through the blades of reedy grass, she pulled out an oval white egg.

"Ah, except... maybe its residents. You really should put that down, Rose."

"What's this? There must be some big birds living here."

"Um, that's... that's not a bird egg."

Rustling caused Rose to turn towards the brush again. It grew louder, and Rose hastily put the egg down on the bank and began to back off, her quick strokes breaking up the surface of the water. She didn't get far when the sounds of whatever it was seemed to be right on top of the egg. A second later, a glossy olive snout thrust out from the grass, followed by rows of pointy teeth and two slitted reptilian eyes.

"Rose!"

The crocodile-like beast opened its great jaws, advancing forward with incredible speed towards her.

Rose jumped back, the surface of the water swirling madly around her, and landed against the Doctor, who must have just reached her.

The reptile stopped abruptly, its front feet submerged in the lagoon. Its jaws slowly closed and it remained still, watching them.

"I..." The Doctor purred, as if concentrating on a new and pleasant discovery, "have got a Rose in a swimming costume." Rose could feel his slender fingers against her bare midriff holding her, if somewhat nervously, in place against him as they floated in the buoyant water.

Rose twisted a little to look back at him, her voice raised along with an eyebrow. "Of all the things! There's an alien crocodile snapping its jaws at me, and you're thinking about that?"

A wide grin slowly spread across the Doctor's face as he giggled. "Yeah."

"You git!"

Rose delivered an angry expression, and he immediately sobered, turning educational. "Nothing to worry about, she's only warning you away. Calling your bluff, really. Her jaws are rubbish in the heat of the sun. Night predators, they hunt at night. You just disturbed her nest."

"Oh."

Rose calmed at this news, choosing to believe he was telling her the truth and not just making it up. She watched the crocodile tuck itself back into the brush along the bank, disappearing from view. "Tell me why we didn't go somewhere without crocodiles again?"

The Doctor was staring off at where the crocodile had disappeared as he took in a deep breath and tried, "Best sunset in the universe?"

"Which is when?"

The Doctor squinted toward the horizon. "Oh, I dunno... 'bout half an hour?"

Rose noticed the Doctor hadn't let go of her yet.

"Let go of me, you're tickling."

"Oh. Am I?"

The Doctor's fingers begin to wiggle, and Rose started to writhe furiously in an attempt to get away.

"Stop it, stop!" Rose managed between laughter.

Of course, he didn't.

Bastard.

Unable to free herself from the Doctor's grip, Rose instead grabbed for his thighs and pulled, trying to loose his footing and dunk him. It didn't work, however, and she only managed to pull herself flush with him, still wiggling frantically.

A sharp intake of air near her ear and the blissful ceasing of tickles made Rose look round again. A faraway expression was on the Doctor's face, mixed with surprise.

"Don't do that."

Rose couldn't have been held accountable for the sly grin that grew over her face. Don't do that? Okay, sure.

Rose wiggled her backside, this time with purpose.

"Mm," the Doctor grunted through clenched jaw, his hands rushing to her wrists, trying to free her hold on his legs, but his grip seemed to have gone weak. Rose could swear she saw his eyes glaze over. Curious as to what the Doctor would do, Rose experimented again.

And then they were sinking. Being caught off guard as she almost went under, she let go.

In a blink, Rose was flipped around, her back slamming into the rocky outcropping of the bank. The Doctor's face was suddenly and alarmingly close, his nose almost touching hers. She found that her arms couldn't move, as he had them pinned at the elbows.

"That's not nice," the Doctor breathed huskily.

Rose returned the intensity of his gaze with her own. "Neither's tickling."

His dark eyes flicked to her lips. Rose could see the hunger in them, could feel him restraining himself.

She wished he wouldn't.

"Doctor..."

Lips parting, the Doctor appeared to be having trouble breathing. Eyes still locked on her mouth, he slowly pushed himself away.

Suddenly, the Doctor met her eyes as his face brightened into a maniacal grin and he dove backwards, disappearing into a flurry of sloshing water.


	3. Sunset

"Hey!" Rose yelled. She paused a moment, stunned with confusion and frustration. "You can't just go swannin' off after that!"

There was no reply, and the water only stilled further.

Where had he gone? Why wasn't he coming back up?

As Rose took in her surroundings, she became aware of the descending sun and the growing shadows that hid from the sharp rays. He had been right, the sunset was going to be spectacular. Being suddenly alone, however, with the itch of an imperative thought scratching at her brain, she wasn't in the particular mood necessary to enjoy it.

"Doctor?"

What was it he had said about night?

The crocodiles hunt at night.

And the Doctor had just left her alone.

Rose cursed under her breath as she started away from the danger of the bank in a smooth breast stroke, towards where the Doctor must have gone, and called his name louder. How long had he been under? Certainly he wouldn't just dive under and drown. Unless crocodiles weren't the only thing...

She quickly avoided that train of thought. What she wanted to know was why they were not getting out of the water if night was soon to be upon them, along with its danger. Should she get out herself and wait? No, she wouldn't leave him.

It had been at least a minute, surely. Rose looked back over her shoulder, the banks of the lagoon in the distance. She had come upon a place where the banks hugged close on either side before disappearing ahead, giving way to a great expanse of still water. Rose tried to stand and was alarmed to find she could no longer touch the bottom. Resorting to treading water, she looked around, feeling very alone and more worried than ever.

"Doctor! Where are you?"

Rose regretted what she had done. She must have pushed him too far. Would he just up and leave her like this, though? Had he not known how to respond?

The Doctor must have come up by now, somewhere. If he was hiding and she ever found him, he had another thing coming.

It suddenly occurred to her that he might head for the TARDIS. There was no place he would feel safer. Rose turned towards the lagoon and hesitated. What if he actually needed help, out in the water somewhere? She couldn't just leave.

The Doctor's soft, controlled tone quietly called her name. Rose spun around.

The light of the setting sun had grown softer as dusk approached. In the long shadows of the trees out in the center of the deeper water, the Doctor gazed back at her, his wet skin glistening slightly in the indirect light.

Rose was about to yell, but stopped herself at the placid expression on his face. Instead, she asked simply, "Where did you go?"

"Ah," the Doctor turned his eyes away briefly as if pondering, "Away."

"You think?" Rose took a deep breath. "I thought you were in trouble!"

The Doctor's brow lowered. "Why?"

"'Cause you weren't anywhere!"

His tone turned defensive and up an octave, but with little force. "I was underwater, just now. You saw me."

"That was over a minute ago, and you swam all this way?"

"So?"

Rose closed her eyes. "I thought you had drowned, or something had pulled you under." She glared at him. "Instead, you were just hiding away from me?"

"Yes."

Rose opened her mouth to continue her tirade, but stopped. She hadn't expected him to admit it. She instead softly asked the obvious next question. "Why?"

At first, the Doctor's only response was to stare at her. Rose felt like she was starting to singe at the edges with the intensity of his eyes, and almost wished she hadn't asked, when he replied, "I needed time to think."

"Time to think," Rose repeated slowly, "by starving your brain of oxygen?"

The Doctor's eyebrows rose as he nodded, then added a small smile. "Yep!"

Rose shook her head. Whatever! "Okay so, what about the crocodiles at night thing?"

"Hm?"

"Crocodiles. They hunt at night. The sun is about to set."

The Doctor blinked as he stared blankly past her. There was a small splash as the Doctor's hand broke the water's surface to pull on his ear as he thought. "Right."

Rose didn't like the look on his face--the look that routinely accompanied a 'Plan B' and involved running.

"Ah, let's make for the TARDIS, shall we?" The Doctor's voice had lost its calm, sprouting nervous inflections. After a few searching glances behind Rose and out into open water, he turned toward one of the nearby banks and dove into a swift crawl stroke.

Rose launched herself after him, struggling to keep up. As the Doctor started to lose her, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

"Come on, then!"

"You're too fast!" Rose hollered up to him, her tone pleading.

The Doctor started off again, but Rose found she could keep pace with him. As they swam with reckless speed, Rose was beset with the unique brand of strangeness of their situation. As the sun crawled from the sky, hiding from them behind the mountains, she took in the drooping moss of the trees ahead, the musky scent of the water, and the ambient clicking of alien insects. The whole of it was so very untamed and raw, much more wild than places they usually found themselves in.

Rose watched the rapid-fire splashing of his strokes and thought the Doctor seemed very much out of place here. So was she, for that matter. It all seemed somehow surreal, yet was tied fast to reality by the familiar presence of danger.

Beginning to tire out, Rose concentrated on just swimming and breathing.

It was then the Doctor disappeared.


	4. Transition

The Doctor forced the air from his lungs in a cry of pain that was lost to the depths. He was being dragged violently down by whatever had its crushing grip on his leg. He could see Rose above him, floating on the surface, and wanted desperately to warn her away. Just before the darkness grew heavy enough to obscure her from view, the Doctor could see the looming shape of a crocodile closing in on her...

No! He had to get away, to get free of the something that had him around his ankle. Doubling himself up, which pulled painfully against his injury, the Doctor lashed out in the darkness. His hand connected with the hard ridged scales of a crocodile's head. Working the fingers of both hands between its teeth, he tried to pry its jaws open, but it was no good. For his efforts, the creature shook him hard, and the Doctor thought his leg might shatter under the horrible pressure.

Fighting the terrible pain along with the burning of his empty lungs, the Doctor was dimly aware of the change in environment surrounding him. If the lack of oxygen wasn't just getting to his brain and he was still sensing properly, he could feel a substance thicker than water, could see a violet omnipresent glow that was steadily getting brighter. The taste on his tongue was putrid, as if he were being devoured by rot.

Something about it all began to work itself out in his mind--the properties of the muck, the crocodile's behaviour, and the planet he was on. It suddenly fell into place as he twigged the truth of it.

This was the Drowning Dregs.

The pressure around his leg suddenly lifted, and the Doctor suffered the agony of the murky substance rushing into the wound. Now more than anything, he needed to breathe, but could he be remembering correctly in such a state? Would he actually be able to breathe this?

Deciding there was nothing else for it and hanging onto consciousness by a thread, the Doctor took in a slopping breath of the muck, invading his delicate lungs with icy fire. Alarmed, he instinctively expelled it, only to have nothing else to breathe but more of it. Precious bubbles of the air he had just released squeezed sluggishly upwards through the thick environment, finding themselves where they didn't belong and hurrying back to join the atmosphere above. His mind suddenly surged with vertigo, and he hadn't realised he'd plunged into unconsciousness until he was coming out from it.

The violet glow grew brighter still, more pink, and to his amazement, clearer. His wits returning to him, the Doctor just concentrated on working his lungs around the muck. He was breathing! Somehow, he was managing to extract oxygen from it. The piercing pain in his chest began to lessen, and he tentatively looked around himself. Stretching out a hand and studying it, the Doctor found he could see further. The taste had gone from rancid to almost sweet, and now that he could smell it, strangely pleasing, a natural odor resembling compost.

Where had the crocodile gone? Of course, it probably wasn't far above him, waiting. They were known for dragging their prey down into the Dregs, but no one knew why. Carefully, he pulled himself towards his leg and examined it, finding the muck surrounding it opaque with his blood. Three puncture wounds, could have been worse. The Doctor wished he had something to bandage it with, but all he had on him were his shorts.

The Doctor thought of Rose. If only he could search for her! He knew he couldn't ascend above the Dregs, though, now that he had acclimated to it--not if he wanted to keep this particular regeneration for a while longer.

A crocodile had been moving towards her. Had it pulled her down here as well? If so, he could do something. Kicking out and ignoring the pain it caused, the Doctor began to swim through the transparent sludge. How far down was the seabed? He hadn't a clue which direction he had come from until he spotted a dark trail--his blood. Following it until he could rise no further, he kept moving forward until he saw--was that a tail? It whipped around and disappeared into the murk above him.

Moving closer, the Doctor suddenly recognised Rose's silhouette. She was swimming up through the violet-pink muck. He tried to speak to tell her to stay down, but his vocal cords wouldn't function. He tried to shout, to tell her she would never make it, but not even the slightest sound was produced.

Quickly reaching her, the Doctor grasped her by the arm, stopping her ascent. Rose, probably having no idea what had her, kicked and pulled. Her strength failing as she held onto the precious bit of air from above, the Doctor easily gained control, hugging her closely in comfort while securing her arms out of his way. She stilled, and he looked into her unfocused, terrified eyes.

She couldn't see him.

It was vital he communicate with Rose. The Doctor was certain a human could breathe this, too. He tried pressing on the sides of her ribs and rubbing her throat with his thumb to tell her to breathe, but wasn't surprised when she didn't understand, not when breathing here was so incredibly unnatural a reaction. He then switched it up and pulled her hands around him so she could feel his respirations, and even exhaled their environment against her cheek, but she still didn't react.

Rose was too terrified. He had to hurry, before she dry-drowned. It was possible she'd figure it out on her own, but he couldn't take the chance of her choosing to not breathe at all, falling into unconsciousness. If he had to, he'd breathe for her, yes, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Then, it came to him.

Taking her head in his hands, the Doctor advanced into her mind. Thankfully, he didn't need her cooperation, as he only had to reach the surface thoughts, which were screaming out to him anyway, desperate to be heard.

_'Breathe! Breathe it in, or die!'_

Two seconds later, Rose did.

The Doctor shut his eyes a moment in immense relief. Rose arched backwards, a stream of glassy bubbles pushing upwards and around each other in a slow-motion race towards the surface. He was distracted from the bizarre event by Rose suddenly going limp.

_'Breathe slowly, or you'll do damage.'_

Pulling her to him with one arm, the Doctor held her while she recovered, continuing to comfort her with his thoughts. They weren't so much in the form of words as images of what he wanted to tell her.  
_  
'I'm here.'_

Rose's strength grew, and soon, she was hugging him fiercely. In a moment of triumph, the Doctor grinned widely as Rose's eyes focused on him through the rosy haze.

_'Hello,'_ he thought to her.

His smile infected her somewhat before it fell away.

_'Doctor, what is this? I was so afraid!'_

Showing Rose everything he knew of the Drowning Dregs, he could sense her fascination with not only where they were and the fact that they were alive, but their connection.

_'I can't believe you're in my head. I've seen you do it a couple of times, but...'_

The Doctor felt Rose shrink away slightly with embarrassment as she bit her lip. She liked it? He would have to remember that for a later time. Right now, they had to move.

_'Rose, we can't stay here for long. We're not meant to breathe this.'_

_'How do we get out?'_

_'I don't know. Follow me, close. Don't exert yourself.'_

The Doctor let go of Rose and began to swim level. With one leg still bleeding, he tried not to kick with it, preferring steady, slow strokes with his other limbs. Of all the alien environments they had visited, this was one of the very strangest. All he could see was Rose, the pair of them enveloped in a cloud of pink. It then occurred to him that they should see how far down they could go. Angling downwards, he started their descent, looking behind occasionally to make sure Rose was with him.

Before long, textures formed below him. Long, winding weeds came first, then large rocks and gritty, uneven sand. He hadn't seen a living thing besides him and Rose at all, even here. There were, however, signs of past life, including a humanoid skull. He had thought the purplish glow had been coming from the bottom somewhere, but he now saw it wasn't. The luminescence seemed to come from the very essence of the muck itself.

Uprooting one of the slippery, fleshy grasses--popweed, if he recalled correctly--the Doctor went about tying it around his wounded lower leg. He looked over to see Rose pulling up her own weed and, for the first time, noticed the marks on her thigh, just above her knee. The Doctor reached out in concern, wanting to inspect the seriousness of her injury, but Rose noticed his hand and batted it away. Frowning, he concentrated on his own bandaging job. It took some creative knotting to get it to stay in place. After he had finished, the Doctor kicked with it experimentally and moved to help Rose with hers. When she again tried to wave him off, he insisted, showing her how to knot it.

As he moved to hold her leg in place while he worked, he felt the smooth silkiness of her skin through the muck. The Doctor made the effort to keep his touch from lingering, unwilling to test her patience. The pink glow around them seemed to be almost attracted to Rose, and he couldn't help but gaze at her. While this deadly depth was dark and dangerous, Rose was a beacon of life and hope, his sole companion in a mad existence. She was so very important to him, and he would get her out of here, somehow.

Makeshift bandages secured, the Doctor led Rose further through their pink world.

* * *

I won't grief the two people who have reviewed by holding chapters back, but I REALLY am interested in what folks like about my fiction, because I know a lot of people are reading. Feedback is a big part of why I decide to post new stories. Thirty seconds is all I ask--a favourite line, what you think works or doesn't, and your thoughts on my biggest goal, characterisation. Thank you all! 


	5. Discovery

The floor of the sea was terribly uneven. The Doctor had thought they were heading upwards, back towards the lagoon, when it became clear by the heavier presence in his lungs and on his skin that they were, in fact, deeper than before. Even though he couldn't breathe as quickly, he found himself more alert. It seemed the thicker nature of it also increased its oxygen density.

The Doctor slowed to a stop. Of course! That explained why people drowned in the Dregs. If they managed to survive the air-to-sludge transition, most probably went on instinct and either tried to reach the surface or stayed as high as they could within the layer of muck. The higher you are within it, the less concentration of oxygen, the faster one has to breathe, and--

There was a light touch on his arm. The Doctor turned to see Rose looking at him with concern. He gave her a reassuring smile and started off again, deciding he and Rose stood a better chance down here than where they had been.

Until, that was, the bulk of a giant shell powered right past his face. The Doctor pulled back in shock, wide eyes following the mass of writhing tentacles as it retreated into the hazy pink distance. He took a few moments to just watch and listen. This time, Rose's touch on his arm was in the form of a death grip. He looked to her and brought a hand up to her face. She was terrified.

_'What was that?!'_

_'A local, apparently. It doesn't seem as interested in us as the crocodiles were, so let's keep moving. Okay?'_

Rose took a deep sludgy breath and nodded.

_'Yeah, I'm okay. I've got you.'_

The Doctor offered his warmest of smiles and she released her grip from his arm to squeeze his hand. He wished he could hold hers as they went, but it made swimming difficult. There had been a good reason he hadn't regenerated aquatic after all.

They hadn't progressed far before they had seen another of the creatures, and then another. The shelled beasts were very similar to the nautilus of Earth, the Doctor noted. Every time one passed them, they stopped to watch what it would do, and each time, it would leave them alone.

The creatures did notice them, however. One would approach and hesitate, as if trying to make out what they were, before carrying on.

It was just after the Doctor and Rose had come across two at once that they encountered the mother of all nautili. He doubted even ancient Earth had any so large. It was so vast, the Doctor didn't recognise it for what it was, at first. The muck was all motion, a writhing sea of movement and currents associated with so many giant tentacles roping through it. Its great head was faded in the distant haze, the rim of its massive shell on the edge of visibility. Absolutely beautiful!

One of those huge tentacles suddenly began snaking towards them.

The Doctor yelled uselessly in warning, attempting to brace himself for the impact of it. It had reached them in seconds, but instead of hitting hard, it gently curled around the Doctor's middle, thick like an elephant's trunk, but smooth, no suckers. He craned his neck, desperate to see if Rose was all right, and to his surprise, it had so far left her completely alone.

_'WHY DO YOU COME HERE?'_

The Doctor was taken aback. He stilled, staring at its center.

_'Oh... hello. Um, I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose.'_

He gestured to the terrified girl, who was shaking slightly in her dark bikini and watching him, looking entirely without a clue as to what to do. The Doctor fixed his eyes back on the distant head and projected firm thoughts of warning.

_'Don't you touch her.'_

The nautilus seemed to not have heard this. Instead, the Doctor sensed its change of perspective, the band of muscle wound round him loosening ever so slightly.

_'DOCTOR...? CAN YOU... HELP ME?'_

He frowned. What?

_'...Sorry?'_

_'HELP ME, DOCTOR. I AM THE BROODMOTHER. HELP MY CHILDREN.'_

The Doctor could tell by the way she imagined them that they were much too young to be the 'children' swimming about her that needed the help she sought. Directly, anyway.

Could he help? Possibly. Did he want to?

_'How do I know you won't just eat us once I've helped you?'_

There was a pause as the Broodmother thought.

_'I SMELL BLOOD. ARE YOU INJURED?'_

_'Oh, I'll say we are. Your croc cronies were none too gentle getting us down here. They _are _yours, aren't they?'_

_'I WILL TRY TO HEAL YOU. TRUST IN ME.'_

The Doctor didn't see they had much choice in the matter, seeing as the tentacle hugging him put an anaconda to shame. He did notice, however, that she was politely waiting for his consent. The Broodmother needed his cooperation, after all, and therefore wanted to show her respect for that need. Clever, this one.

_'Get on with it, then.'_

The response was immediate, the living rope tugging him closer, away from Rose.

_'Wait! She comes with me!'_

Another tentacle lashed outwards, and in seconds, Rose had been caught up in it.

Rose didn't seem to like it one bit. The Doctor was instantly resistant. None of this was worth her fear.

_'SHE'S FIGHTING ME.'_

_'She doesn't know your intentions!'_

_'HER MIND IS NOT OPEN.'_


	6. Trade

Rose struggled and kicked, trying to wiggle her way out of the crushing loop of tentacle. Her chest ached with the effort of hyperventilating. The smooth flow of muck rushing past her was interrupted as she felt the tentacle collide with something. She looked up to see the Doctor, the concern for her on his face clearly evident. The two tentacles had pulled them together. What was this?

The Doctor reached out a hand in a gesture she was beginning to associate with his desire to communicate. When his fingers touched her face, she gripped onto his hand with both of hers.

_'Rose, slow down. I don't think she means us harm.'_

_'How can you think that! What else would it want but to eat us?'_

_'She's speaking to me.'_

Rose stopped fighting.

_'Wha'?'_

_'The Broodmother's eggs won't lay. I'm going to try to find out why.'_

The Doctor wanted to help this monster? Rose looked down the long tentacle through the fuzzy haze. She had seen the Doctor like this before. He was determined to fix something he decided needed fixing, and she'd be along for the ride. She had to trust him. Rose turned to meet his eyes again. He had apparently gotten the message, as his mouth stretched warmly.

_'Just go with what happens, but don't let her separate us.'_

Rose nodded in full agreement. His fingers brushed at her ear before he pulled away. They then began to move, being steadily drawn toward the huge creature and its encasing shell.

The creature kept growing bigger as they drew closer and closer. By the time the tentacles slackened and sloughed away, it was an impossibly huge presence. Rose could see it just about every direction she faced. She wondered how the lagoon itself could even hold it.

The Doctor bent, pulling his leg up and began fiddling with the knot of weed around his ankle. After a moment, he looked over to her, then down at her own bandaging job with an insistent nod. Rose copied him and began untying the slippery plant from around her leg. What was he up to, now?

The tips of two heavy tentacles lingered nearby in the thick, transparent muck. As soon as she had removed her bandage, they began to suddenly move towards them. Rose pulled herself to the Doctor's side, alarmed. The Doctor put an arm around her, rubbing her bare back as if to reassure her. She looked at his face, and while he looked wary, he didn't seem to be afraid.

It was then Rose discovered these tentacles were specialised. Along one side of each, a sprouting of thin, wispy filaments waved together through the mucky pink currents like fragile hairs. It was these filaments that were carefully brought to them. Rose marveled at the beautiful sight.

The Doctor put his palm against the spongy hide of the tentacle, a look of concentration on his face. He suddenly grinned, and as Rose watched, the delicate filaments migrated towards him, tangling around his foot and enveloping his leg.

Rose swallowed a mouthful of muck in nervous anticipation. The filaments of the other tentacle were drawing towards her, and she looked to the Doctor for help. He had that ageless, assured look in his eyes she'd seen countless times before. He nodded to her, giving her a squeeze.

The bundle of filaments felt like soft, silky hair sweeping over her leg, except they seemed to move slightly of their own accord, tickling her skin. Rose tried to keep still as the ends began to stick to the wounds that ringed her thigh. The contact stung a bit, but not unbearably so.

The strands were winding into a mess around both of them, and Rose wondered how this creature would finally untangle them. A few stray strands wrapped upwards, tightening around her bikini, and Rose hastily pushed at them, incensed. She looked up to find the Doctor was laughing silently at her. Curious as to how he had managed to cope with it, she saw that because his injury was much lower, he didn't have any problem.

It was all strangeness and wickedly alien, and Rose just wanted to be held. So, in favour of her sudden impulse, Rose decided to forgive him and hugged the Doctor close as the filaments prickled against her wounds.

Rose felt the Doctor's fingers touch her face.

_'You all right?'_

_'Yeah. Is it--I mean, she, healing us?'_

_'Yes. Well, probably not _healing _as such. More like sealing the wounds. Sealing, not healing!'_

A smirk grew on Rose's face as the Doctor amused himself.

_'So, what next?'_

_'Well...'_

The Doctor twisted, making Rose loosen her grip a bit. He extended an arm, pointing to a dark crevice between the Broodmother's cavernous shell and her pale grey body.

_'I'm going in there. Wait right outside for me, on the rim of the shell, okay?'_

Rose panicked.

_'What? You said we'd stay together!'_

_'I won't be gone long. Besides, you don't want to go in there, do you?'_

Of course she didn't. Rose eyed the crevice, or rather chasm, warily. She met the Doctor's eyes, pleading to them with her own.

_'What if you don't come out?'_

_'I will.'_

His gaze was full of confidence, and Rose found herself sighing in resignation. He would do what he felt he had to do.

Before long, the mess of strands began to thread away to float freely, and Rose could again clearly see the angry crocodile bite around her leg. Much to her relief, there was no more bleeding, and it wasn't painful to move. She looked up to see the Doctor grinning at her. He cocked his head indicating their next goal and began to swim towards the dark chasm in the distance. Rose took in a deep breath of the muck and began to follow.

Finally reaching the encrusted rim of the shell, Rose turned and fixed the Doctor with her most worried expression, hoping he'd change his mind. Unfortunately, he only returned it with a reassuring smile and disappeared into the blackness. Rose searched blankly with her eyes, hoping to catch bits of his movement, but he was gone.

Rose was surprised to find a cluster of nautili drifting nearby, watching. They must be curious as to what the Doctor was doing inside the shell of their Broodmother. After all, people like them were normally lunch, no doubt. She wondered how the Doctor could be so trusting of them to leave her out here at their mercy. What if one of them misbehaved and ate her anyway?

Not that they were in much better position to defend themselves together against such overwhelming creatures.

The nautili sat and watched her, and she sat and watched them, waiting. She thought about how the Doctor talked to her in her head and marveled at how such a thing could be possible. Yes, she'd seen him do it to other people, and she could only guess what it was all about. Now, she was actually experiencing it, and it was like nothing else. While it wasn't done so much in words, she found that since the Doctor seemed to speak his mind so effectively anyway, it felt quite familiar, like his mind thought in the same pattern as how he normally spoke. He might as well just be speaking to her.

There was a sudden rumbling. Not only did Rose feel it through the shell as her hand rested on it, but it vibrated through the pinkness of the muck as well. Had the Doctor done something? The nautili scattered, and Rose looked into the dark space and waited. Where was he?

When Rose felt like she would go mad from uneasiness and was about to go in looking, the Doctor popped into the dimness, a victorious look on his face. Rose just about tackled him, relieved he was alive and annoyed he had worried her so. She was also very curious as to what he had done.

The Doctor took her hand as the shadow of a tentacle loomed into view. It wound around them both, and Rose found herself suddenly squished up against the Doctor. Oh what, the Broodmother was getting lazy, now, and couldn't spare another tentacle? Still, at least now they couldn't be separated. Rose looked at the Doctor apologetically, but he didn't seem to mind and turned it into a hug.

Their ride began to move, and soon they were streaking through the muck. The Doctor touched her face.

_'That wasn't so bad, was it?'_

_'Doctor, what did you do?'_

_'Oh, you know. Just a bit of sonicing. She's all better now!'_

Rose blinked as he grinned.

_'Sonicing? You brought your sonic screwdriver?'_

_'Yep! In my pocket. You know I don't go anywhere without it.'_

_'But... it's waterproof? Um, muck-proof?'_

_''Course it is! Mind you, I wasn't sure at first if it was up to the job. The Broodmother's just massive!'_

_'So, you soniced... what, exactly?'_

_'Well, the egg chamber's enclosed in this great stretch of membrane. That's how it's supposed to be, except when it's time for her to lay the eggs. Well, the membrane wouldn't pull away. I just gave it a jump start, of sorts. Simple solution, massive results! Poor girl, she's getting old. Been alive a long, long time, she has. What a life, eh?'_

Something didn't sit right with Rose. The Doctor was continuing on.

_'Of course, when I told her this clutch had a queen in it, she was completely ecstatic--'_

_'Aren't they our enemies? They eat people! Why would we want them to live, all these eggs to hatch?'_

The Doctor quickly pulled his hand up off the flesh of the tentacle. Rose thought this curious, and wondered if he had been communicating with the creature. She supposed he didn't want to leak any ill thoughts towards the Broodmother. The Doctor gazed at her with a serious expression, his light mood squelched.

_'I know, Rose. I've put a lot of thought into this. Trust me when I say it's the right thing to do.'_

_'How can you know that, though? Aren't we changing history, allowing so much more death to happen?'_

_'I'll explain it later. Right now, we have an opportunity to get out of here.'_

Interest peaked, Rose's eyebrows went up.  
_  
'Oh?'_


	7. Ascent

A great big eye came into view in the murky distance. The Doctor noted its simple lens design and figured it probably couldn't see very well. It had made the effort, though, so that was saying something.

The Doctor pressed his palm against the tentacle clutching him and Rose.

_'I TRUSTED YOU WITH MY ENTIRE BROOD, AND YOU DID NOT FAIL ME. TRUST ME NOW TO PUSH YOU SAFELY FROM MY WORLD, AND I WILL NOT FAIL YOU.'_

The Doctor swallowed, nervous. If Rose got injured during the process...

_'What do we have to do?'_

_'ONCE IN YOUR WORLD, EXPEL MINE, AND DO NOT FIGHT ME.'_

He took in this information, trying to imagine the situation, and memorised it. His thoughts turned serious, demanding.

_'How do you know what we need, how to help us? Keep us safe?'_

There was a pause as the Broodmother seemed to think on his thoughts.

_'YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST AIR BREATHERS I HAVE SEEN.'_

The Doctor had thought as much, but her response stirred his curiousity. He wanted to ask more, but he could tell by the finalised nature of her thoughts that she would not reveal more. Still, they couldn't stay down here, and didn't have much choice.

_'Let's get this over with. No, hold on.'_

Reaching again to Rose, the Doctor told her the Broodmother's instructions, and she nodded her understanding. He could feel her nervousness as well, not knowing what was going to happen.

_'We'll do it together.'_

Rose nodded again and smiled brilliantly.

_'Together.'_

The Doctor turned back to that big, nautilus eye, slapping his hand down on the tentacle.

_'Right! Off we go, then!'_

The tentacle released them, falling away into the distance until it disappeared. A moment later, it reappeared, along with a second one. The Doctor didn't realise they were both different tentacles until one had slipped almost completely past him and he saw the specialised filaments. It bumped up right against him, the tip of the tentacle only a short ways past his feet.

_'HOLD ON TIGHT'_

No, this wasn't right. The Broodmother couldn't possibly be accounting for all their needs. They couldn't simply be pulled out of the Drowning Dregs! Nitrogen sickness would kill Rose, for one.

_'This won't work!'_

The bundle of filaments drew near, and the Doctor blinked and turned his head as they began to cluster around his face.

_'DO NOT FIGHT. PULL THEM IN.'_

The Doctor stared over at the eye incredulously. She wanted him to what? He sucked in a breath and was about to argue when he felt something against his lips and, alarmingly, along the inside of his throat. Instinctively he coughed, but it didn't stop. The Doctor could see the strands extending from his mouth, and his first thought was to grab at them and pull them out, but he stopped himself, suppressing the reflex to gag as best he could. He concentrated on just breathing calmly, and more of the filaments worked their way in as he did so.

Rose was watching him, looking horrified. He nodded at her, hoping she would get on with her own so they could get out of here and he could get these out of his throat as quickly as possible. While he wasn't afraid the Broodmother was going to hurt them, in this case he feared the unknown, as he felt very vulnerable having anything in his lungs that didn't belong there. Then again, he'd gotten used to that, surviving in the Drowning Dregs, hadn't he?

Once the Broodmother had apparently been satisfied with Rose's eventual cooperation, the tentacles began to move, and both of them gripped tightly to their respective rides. They were being pulled through endless muck, and at one point, the tentacles switched directions and began pushing them, up and up. It was all the Doctor could do to hug the tentacle that was forcing him upside-down out of the Dregs with his arms and legs, despite his second thoughts of leaving its safety.

The temperature grew suddenly colder, and the Doctor could now hear water rushing past his popping ears. He must have been holding his breath, as he wasn't taking any in. He hoped Rose was okay.

With a great crash, the Doctor felt the empty bite of air all around him, was almost blinded by the moonlight of the lagoon's night. A great crushing weight hung in his chest, and he gave an almighty cough. Dark muck spilled from his mouth, squeezing past the bundle of filaments that occupied most of his airway, and splashed into the surface of the water below around the stalk of tentacle that held him aloft.

The Doctor pulled in a gasp of air.

It was freezing and unbearably dry. He wanted nothing more than to plunge back into the depths into the safety of the Dregs and breathe back in its warmth, but fear of the water between kept him hanging on. As he exhaled, more muck worked its way out, and he took in another breath. This would all be over soon. Just breathe.

The filaments tasted like fish and looked like slimy spaghetti, the moonlight glinting off the bundle in front of his mouth. As the tickling in his lungs grew worse, the Doctor shook with the sickening feeling, doing his best to stay attached to his pillar of safety in an alien world.

He saw Rose clinging to the other of the Broodmother's tentacles, and he felt sudden anger at himself for subjecting her to such an experience. She looked all right, though. As long as she kept hanging on, they'd both be all right, he assured himself.

Suddenly, the presence inside his lungs ceased, and he could feel the filaments sliding over his tongue, slipping out. Attached to each end was a dark clod of something, and the Doctor realised it had to be muck that had been lining his lungs. Now able to breathe properly, he filled his lungs with the night air, which no longer stung and felt fresh and sweeter than anything he'd ever breathed before.

The Doctor grinned uncontrollably. Oh, this was brilliant. He looked over and tested his voice.

"Rose!"

She was grinning, too, watching him. "Doctor, we're free!"

The Doctor laughed triumphantly, squeezing the tentacle extra hard in thanks. "Freer than birds. Safe and sound!" He looked around them, nothing but a small island in sight. "What now, we swim?"

As if the Broodmother had read his mind--which, he mused, she probably had--the towering duo tentacles began to migrate towards the island. The Doctor and Rose were carried right over the bank, tipped right-side-up, and deposited on solid, dry land. Rose's tentacle pulled away at once, but the Doctor's lingered against his palm.

_'THANK YOU, DOCTOR.'_


	8. Epilogue

This is for Emela, and others that have taken the time to review. I really appreciate you.

* * *

The two whip-like tendrils snapped with frightening speed back out over the water's surface, slipped quickly and silently under the surface and were gone. 

The Doctor wiped a hand down his wet face and dropped limply to the grass. He lay peacefully as he gazed up at the sparse trees.

Rose plopped down next to him. "I had forgotten how strong gravity is up here."

"Mm, right you are. Funny how perception can change so easily, isn't it?"

"Doctor..." Rose began, her uncertain tone causing him to look over at her with concern. He was taken by the way the moonlight shone off her wet skin, the way she lay on the grass in her bikini with her hands behind her head. "We helped all those eggs to hatch. I know the Broodmother seemed nice and everything, but they're evil! They eat people, those crocodiles snatching them and dragging them down into the Dregs."

"They're not evil, Rose. We didn't have much of a choice, now, did we? How else would we have escaped without the Broodmother's help?"

"But without us, they would've died away and never hurt anyone again!"

"And the muck would've dissipated, the crocs would've died away, the boon bunnies and writherbugs would overpopulate and eat the vegetation barren, and the world would be an utter mess."

Rose stared at the Doctor. "What?"

"The entire ecosystem would've been disrupted if we hadn't gone down there to help the Broodmother lay her eggs. The crocs rely on the muck created by the nautili, and if the eggs don't hatch, the muck would fade away. If the crocs suffered, other species would overpopulate, and the whole planet would be destroyed."

"Just let it be destroyed, then? How do you know it wasn't meant to be?"

"It's not that simple, Rose. There are events this planet needs to be around for."

Rose paused in silence, a pouty look on her face. "Time Lord superpowers?"

The Doctor hid his amusement and affected serious agreement. "Time Lord superpowers."

She sighed, looking up at the stars and the dark silhouetted treetops. "I guess I can understand. I wish it wasn't all so confusing, though."

"You'll learn, if you stick around me long enough!" the Doctor announced brightly. "You're smarter than you think."

Rose smiled, absorbing the compliment. "I'll take a lesson, but first..." she squinted up at a star with a faraway look, "can we go somewhere nice, without crocodiles?"

The Doctor grinned his understanding. "Sure."

No sooner had he begun thinking through their possible next destination, there was a rustling from the bank. The Doctor and Rose were immediately on their feet, alarmed, and for good reason. There just beyond the reeds, two crocodiles began crawling out of the lagoon towards them.

"Don't they know we just saved their existence?" Rose cried.

"Those two do know how to hold a grudge, now, don't they?" the Doctor muttered.

"How do you know those are the same two?"

"Well, you _did_ touch their egg!"

"There's got to be hundreds of crocodiles around here! Maybe they're just dumb beasts and they're just lookin' for a meal!"

The ground suddenly lurched, and both of them were barely successful in keeping upright. The Doctor looked up at the trees and out to the lake, which sloshed madly up against the island. The crocodiles had stopped their advance, and the Doctor realised the truth.

"Haha!"

"What?"

"This island," the Doctor began enthusiastically, "is not an _island_ at all! It's the top of the Broodmother's shell! Talk about a unique piece of real estate."

The crocodiles no longer seemed stunned and began moving towards them, mouths full of jagged teeth opening threateningly.

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand, ready to tell her to run, when suddenly, two tentacles shot out of the water, flinging spray. Each pounced on a crocodile, wrapped tightly around a writhing body, and snatched them from the bank, plunging back into the lagoon with a crashing twin splash.

The two stood in the following stunned silence, sorting through the implications of what had just happened. Finally, the Doctor looked pointedly at Rose, all cheer.

"Right, cup of tea? If I'm correct, and I usually am, we won't be bothered all the way back to the TARDIS. Come on!"

* * *

"Okay, I admit it. Maybe I should've specified we wouldn't be bothered by _crocodiles_. 

Rose flung her arms out, dislodging sticky fruit that scattered across the grilled deck of the console room and popped between the gaps to fall into the workings below.

"Oi, I have to clean that up, you know!"

"Have we not been through enough today?" Rose ranted. "Were we not exhausted enough already, that they decided we hadn't done enough running yet today, and should get a start? I hope you've got something to get this sappy stuff off. Muck, now sap. I'm gonna be in the bath for hours!"

"Rose, they were monkeys," the Doctor said sympathetically. "They could've thrown worse."

She stilled, calming immediately. "Yeah."

"So!" the Doctor exclaimed. "If you're like me, you're not really into anything outside in the weather right now, even if it's nice." He glanced sidelong at Rose to catch her surprised confirmation. "I was thinking... how about an opera?"

Rose made a face. "Not really my style."

"Oh, I think this one will be. You've never been to an alien opera."

She looked up, the pull of her lips telling the Doctor she was pondering the possibilities. "All right, yeah... I'll give it a go."

"There's just one teensy, tiny condition."

"Yeah?"

The Doctor nodded, straight-faced. "You have to go wearing that."

Rose glanced down at her bikini, then stared at him incredulously. The Doctor couldn't hide the twitch of his suppressed grin, and she grabbed a sticky fruit from her hair. It was uncanny, he thought, how she had reached right for it, knowing it was there, and not even having to look at it as her eyes bore threateningly into him.

Realising her intention, the Doctor's eyebrows shot up and he ducked around the console, narrowly missing a sappy encounter with a sailing fruit.


End file.
